Erebus, The Great Snake
by Reiner-6
Summary: The background to a Dragonborn I am playing at a homebrew adventure.


Ha! Come stranger, take a place by the fire and let me tell you of Erebus Sivak-Wing! His tale begins long ago, the Sivak-Wing Clan was a proud one, every one of them an honorable warrior at heart, concerned with the good of their clan and protectors of their lands, the snowy mountains of Makh'Aden. They were simple folk, cultivating their land with the most respect for they knew that it was a gift from the gods and such was a precious thing.

His father, the chief of the clan, Krenan was a firm leader and the strongest fighter of them. For years he stood proud helping his clan prosper in any way, from helping the farmers with the harvest to fighting in the plain to protect their village. He was a man of the people, respected and loved by all. It was said that Krenan would have passed into history as Krenan the Peace Bringer, for many years he had kept tranquility to his people as no foe had ever reached the base of the mountain all had been slain in the plains below

As any lasting peace it had to end, when Erebus barely older than a hatchling, the mountain was attacked by the Lekian, a group of ruffians and slaves of the western coasts who heard rumors of the value of Dragonborn as skilled fighters and laborers. Blocking almost every route in and out of the mountain they laid siege to village and slowly but firmly crawling their way to the top of the mountain. Krenan and his warriors fought valiantly against their foes having the advantage of knowing better than anyone the mountain and its secrets, but the Lekian had numbers on their side. So, they kept pouring into the mountain until most of the warriors were either death or captured.

Several days had passed since the start of the siege, the Sivak-Wing were fighting a losing battle, their number and provisions dwindling while the Lekian pressed their attacks like waves to the shore. After 17 days, the Lekian launched a full assault, rushing into the mountain and breaching the village. That day, it was said, Krenan slew 85 soldiers all by himself, yet the Lekian numbers still were overmatching the Sivak-Wing.

The leader of the Lekian, Surah, confronted Krenan a battle that was savage and ferocious, as the battle continued Krenan was already tired from early combat, while Surah was fresh just joining the fight just after the village was reached. The chief stood his ground as long as he could but at the end his strength faded and felt to exhaustion, Surah was about to finish him when he heard the screams of one of his men and looking to the source of the sound, a man was in the ground gasping and bleeding heavily from what appeared to be a torn throat, while a boy stared back at him with his face covered in gore and blood, and holding a knife towards the leader of the Lekian.

Surah marched towards the kid, while the other tightened his grip around the knife and spitting chunks of meat out his mouth. Just as Surah was about to strike the boy, Krenan tried to intercept him but his body couldn't react as he wished for, Surah just kicked the chief away. As more of his men arrived, Surah ordered them to seize the boy and his father, the first being a natural fighter and the other proving to be a seasoned warrior, both were worth more alive than death. And so, the Sivak-Wing were no more.

Most of the clan members were sold into slavery; mines, fields many forms of forced labor. The ones that were healthier and feistier were sold to Arena Masters and other slave owners to become fighters in the gladiator matches. Krenan tried to fight his way to freedom, only to fail several times. Surah threaten the warrior to kill his son if he dared to continue his efforts.

Krenan knew of the stories of the arenas, brutal battles were honor meant nothing and were just for entertainment of the masses. But he knew that even so, some fighters that made it to Gladiator Champions were given their freedom by the Arena Master, regardless of the owner of the slave wishes. So, he struck a deal with Surah, he told him that he would fight for him, that way he could earn more gold than just by selling him that the slaver had seen him fight and it would make him richer this way, this in exchange of not separating his boy from him, which he would train to fight too. Surah seeing that the Dragonborn was just a father trying to protect his child, and such sentimental fools valued honor and promises, accepted thinking the former chief spirit to have been broken and begging for his kid survival.

Krenan was aware of his position, but he would do anything to ensure his boy's survival. He fought during the day and trained Erebus in the night. Every day the scars in his body grew, but every new scar was another day he and his son survived. Erebus was thought from very young the ways of the warrior, but now he had to adapt. This was not the mountain he was born, nor his foes random ruffians that wanted to pillage. This were trained warriors that breath just for the arena. His training was hard and arduous, even when his father was in the arena and he was permitted to watch his father fight, he would train on his own. For his clan, war was a ritual something to be respected, but the arena was far from those ideals.

Erebus learnt to fight brutally and efficiently, were his father's traditions valued form and honor, he had to fight unpredictably and deviously. The lesson that stuck more to his heart was that everything could be a weapon. From his first kill, back in the battle on the mountain and to his early matches in the area, his foes would mostly fall to his jaws. His father, tried to turn this into something more than that, to make the boy make a name for his own, if Krenan couldn't become champion, his son would. Erebus the Teeth, became his first nickname. As his fame grew he developed more and more nicknames, learning different fighting styles from both his father and other warriors. Until he became Erebus, The Great Snake. He spent his life fighting in the arena and training after every duel. The other warriors treat him with respect and soon he befriended many, since they were the only family he ever knew.

As the years passed, Krenan and Erebus' fame grew, and so their matches become bigger spectacles and the Arena Masters took notice of them, a formidable duo that stood against any foe. Surah became aware of this, he was no fool. He still had the idea that both were trying to get their freedom one way or another, if those two plotted to get away they could get a chance, either fighting their way out or by either claiming the title of champion of the arena; and if they got out they would most likely take revenge against him. So, Surah began a plot of his own. He would convince the Masters to plan a great match between the crowds' favorites, Krenan and Erebus, this of course under the pretense that a match between them would be the most profitable match the arena has ever had, at the promise of gold the Masters agreed.

Both father and son would not show mercy or yield to the other, their battle was brutal and evenly matched, were Erebus had youth and vigor, Krenan had experience and discipline. They wouldn't let the other win, they both knew that if one of the threw the battle then the masters would not be impressed by their performance and that would just get them farther from their freedom, their strategy would consist on fighting as hard as they could try to hurt each other so badly the match would end up in a tie and betting the Masters would acknowledge and praise their efforts. Surah by the other hand had turned wheels into motion to assure that at least one of the would die, from within the crowd an assassin was there ready to deliver a poison dart to one of them, it wouldn't matter which, what mattered was that one of them die, the Masters will learn of the cheating, Surah would blame the surviving warrior or a member of the betting clans of forcing the battle to this result. Either way, one would be death and the other would never taste freedom.

The assassin got its signal and threw the dart, hitting Krenan and he felt into the ground. Erebus quickly saw the dart and ran to his father's side, he looked up trying to see who did it, but the assassin blended away into a crowd that went crazy after seeing Krenan fall. Erebus look everywhere, but then he saw Surah, a smile in his face. His father warned that something like this might happen, but he refused to believe it, trying to cheer the old man with the hope of freedom. This tipped Erebus into a frenzy, with all his might he ran to the podium of the Master were Surah was watching the match. Using his claws, he climbed the walls of the arena, as the guards of the Masters began to shoot arrows at him. Many arrows bit his skin, but he didn't care, the world was now reduced only to him as his prey.

Erebus had moved so fast that Surah was still smiling when a claw reached the podium, then his face changed to a mask of terror. Surah had grown comfortable dealing more in business than in his younger days where he leads his raid parties, trading his fighter instincts to those of a businessman. He still remembered who to fight and he tried to reach for the dagger he carried in his robes, but he was no match for Erebus who had spent his whole life fighting, and when the hand of Surah began to reach the hilt of the dagger, Erebus had him by the neck. The gladiator face was anger incarnate, his eyes glowing red contrasted the white of his skin. Surah began to beg for his life, telling Erebus this was a misunderstanding, but those were sounds that never reached Erebus. In a blur, he reaped the slavers head off, spraying blood everywhere.

His rage wasn't quenched yet, he looked to the Masters, them who forced him and his father, and countless others fight to death while they lived in comfort and luxury. He took care of the guards first, killing each of them, tearing them apart. The Masters begged him too, offering him his freedom and riches beyond his wildest dreams. Erebus began his slaughter, and when more guards arrived all were death and the once white Dragonborn was soaked red. Some guards ran out of fear of the visage, others just stood frozen, the ones that hold their courage and tried to stop the warrior died without even touching him, the rest died as well.

This was not the freedom he and his father had envisioned, it was better. He had avenged his clan, his fellow gladiators and his father. He encountered many guards but most ran from him. As his anger cooled he thought of the other slaves in the arena, if he couldn't get the freedom his father wanted, at least he could get his own and that of the others. He ran to the dungeons were the rest of the gladiators and other slaves of the arena were kept and freed them. The arena was in chaos. The crowds trying to get out as the city guards tried to get in, while the former slave raided the armories. Led by Erebus the slaves began to cut their way out through the arena, most of the slaves wanted to run out of the city, but Erebus told them that they weren't the only slaves in the city, that if this was allowed to continue, the arena would still stand and more slave would be brought to replace the one that have escaped.

Reaching for the Slave Market near the docks, Erebus and those slaves that rallied behind him began to free slaves while murdering the slavers. That night the city was turned into a fire inferno. Slaves overtook the city, some running out of the city, others continued the fight. As the sun rise, there were only blackened streets and ash were the former city stood. Erebus had his revenge, now all he wanted was to enjoy his life, as his father would have wished for him. As he took off the former slaves cheered his name, harder and prouder than any crowd at the arena: "Erebus! Erebus! Erebus!"


End file.
